Possible benefit to town from Canada’s hydroelectric power

At least a decade has gone by since this columnist, following a weeklong trip to Montreal, suggested the New England consortium of states consider tapping into Canada’s abundant hydroelectric power.

Paul Gauvin

At least a decade has gone by since this columnist, following a weeklong trip to Montreal, suggested the New England consortium of states consider tapping into Canada’s abundant hydroelectric power.

A similar conclusion was reached at a Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce breakfast forum on renewable energy last month. Well, last week, Northeast Utilities, a multi-state power provider partnered with NStar, which services the Cape, announced it had petitioned the Federal Energy Regulation Commission to do precisely that – tap into Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec via a transmission line through an existing New Hampshire right-of-way. It would cost from $600 million to $1 billion – a lot cheaper than the Big Dig or the Alaska pipeline. Creating electricity from water is one of the least expensive and greenest processes that yields plenty of uninterrupted power, in this case, enough, says Northeast Utilities, to provide electricity to a million homes in the northeast by 2014 – well into what could be Barack Obama’s second term. Cape Cod is a possible beneficiary as NStar, which services the Cape, is also a financial backer in the proposal, notes a report in the Boston Globe. (By comparison, a green two-unit nuclear plant being proposed in Texas would provide electricity to 2.1 million homes.) Obama, just last week, underscored his intent to develop green energy sources by naming Nobel physicist Steven Chu to head the energy department – and about time a creative scientist vs. a politician is properly named to head what is primarily a scientific/engineering field. Ten years ago, tapping into Canada’s power reserves seemed like a no-brainer. The idea blossomed when, after hiking to the crest of beautiful Mont Real – the mount in the middle of the city – sipping hot chocolate, taking in the view (memorable) and schlepping down again among the natives going ice-skating on the mount-top pond, we found our way past an informal musical ensemble performing by a monument (thought we smelled drifting cannabis) to the city’s club district. There, we mounted a dozen steps to an open-air balcony fitted with perhaps a dozen or more tables overlooking the street below. Much to our surprise, patrons were seated with their winter coats off. What the heck? It was surprisingly balmy there on the deck, and when we inquired about that change in temperature, a waiter pointed to an electric grid surrounding the area. Egad! They were heating the outdoors, much like the hotels and restaurants in Las Vegas install those mist pipes along the hot sidewalks to cool off the suckers. This was at a time when electric heat on Cape Cod was an expensive demon and the gas company was offering deals to convert to what was then less expensive natural gas for heating. What appeared to us to be a flagrant abuse of electric power led to what we might call a heated conversation with our friends, comparing the cost of electric heat there to Cape Cod. If memory serves well, our friends were paying around $30 a month to heat their two-story townhouse, a whole lot less than the cost on Cape Cod, all because of hydro power. Unlike older generating plants serving New England, hydro doesn’t need to buy coal, oil or natural gas to generate electricity, just renewable free water. NStar says the line will help meet the goals of reducing carbon and power costs and maintaining reliability. A spokesman for the Conservation Law Foundation has interjected that while the project sounds attractive, New England can’t overlook another green source of power, the wind. Which brings up another prior column about Nova Scotia’s visions to erect wind towers in its abundant space and sell power to New England. Maybe they could eventually tap into the same trunk line? Creative thinking? For the record, the U.S. Energy Information Agency predicts the demand for electric power will increase 42 percent by 2030 – unsustainable by using fossil fuels only for power generation. Hydro Quebec is the world’s largest producer of hydro-electric power, already furnishing some of it to the Northeast United States. Environmentalists are reported happy with Obama’s choice of Chu and the new administration’s underlying intention to move hastily to compress global warming and expand the science of alternative energy. What better gift at some near-future Christmas than cheaper, cleaner power for Cape Cod that doesn’t require sullying the natural serenity of Nantucket Sound?